"We used to live here?"
Rain took a long look around the area.
The asphalt was cracked in many places, there was trash everywhere, graffiti lined every wall in sight, and she could easily spot people huddled in the back alleys, some merely asleep, while others did not seem to be breathing.
Above it all, there was the smell. It was so bad she could feel her stomach revolting; the combination of trash, human stench, and the bad quality of the air made for a vile odor that even the mask Sunny insisted she wear couldn't protect her from.
All in all, it looked like one of those slums that appeared in the action movies she would watch with her family. She had thought them ridiculous and overly exaggerated. Seeing it now with her own eyes, she thought they might have actually undersold it.
"Yes, not the most glamorous of beginnings, huh?"
Standing by her side was Sunny. Unlike her, he wore no mask, his Transcendent constitution more than capable of handling whatever the Outskirts had to throw at him. Besides, he had said that he was already used to the smell. He had also foregone the suit crafted earlier in the morning for a less eye-catching outfit.
She had heard Kai muttering about taking him on a shopping trip and agreed wholeheartedly.
"It's..." Rain paused, unable to come up with a polite way to say it.
"A dump," he finished for her.
"...yes," she agreed in the end.
Sunny smiled, not happy nor sad, but something in between, like he himself wasn't sure how to feel.
"It's a dump, but somehow, it feels like home. It's not just a dump, but my dump." He shook his head at his own words. "That sounded better in my head."
She giggled, a sound that made Sunny chuckle as well.
"Come, I will show you."
Following his lead, Rain approached one of the more dilapidated buildings, the one with a cracked front and whose paint was almost completely peeled away. He pushed the door easily; the hinges let out a mournful wail that told her they had not seen maintenance in far too long.
The interior was better. No trash lined the hall, the paint was peeling away, but it did not seem like it had given up yet, and the stairs seemed to be in good shape. Someone still lived here. The hallway was too clean for it to be abandoned. However, she did not fail to notice the many signs of deterioration. The tenants might have done their best, but she doubted they had the means to properly maintain the building.
They ascended quietly, Rain carefully following in his steps, unwilling to be left alone even for a moment in this place.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a door that seemed to be in relatively good shape, although it had seen better days. Then again, everything looked like it had seen better days in this place.
"This is it, home sweet home," he murmured, tracing the lines on the wood with his fingers.
Rain tilted her head, a vague sense of recognition hitting her. Her memories were fuzzy at best, but she did recognize this place.
Her brother opened the door easily and motioned for her to enter, stepping inside himself after she did and closing the door behind him.
The interior was both what she expected and not. It was cramped, a single room that played the role of dormitory, kitchen, and dining room. The only thing separating the bathroom portion from the others was a thin curtain that had seen better days.
Rain spotted the telltale signs with ease: the wear and tear on the furniture, the marks on the walls, the faint smell of a recently cooked meal, although not one she would have personally eaten.
"Someone lives here?" she asked quietly.
The signs were far too recent, even as early as today, if she wasn't misinterpreting them. She made a mental note to thank big sis later; she wouldn't have been able to tell without her rigorous training.
Sunny stopped his inspection of the room and turned to her.
"Yes, a family of three. I paid them to leave."
"You didn't have to do that," she murmured, feeling bad that the curiosity she felt for the past had led to them being kicked out of their own home, if only briefly and with compensation.
He snorted, amused despite himself.
"Don't feel bad, I paid them enough to leave this dumpster completely."
"You did?"
She hadn't spent too much time with her brother yet, but even she could tell that he was a little... greedy.
He shrugged nonchalantly.
"I'm rich, why not take the chance to spread some happiness around the world?"
Rain smiled at the answer and suppressed a chuckle at the memory it brought to the surface.
Just today, earlier in the morning, right after finishing the retelling of his adventures -and promising to give more details later- he had asked where he could exchange the Shards he had collected during his time away for credits.
Nephis had offered to handle it through her contacts and to pay immediately for them. Her brother had seemed unsure for some reason, but he accepted in the end. What followed was a comical scene, as he summoned what must have been the ugliest safe box she had ever seen.
Rain had expected him to bring out a few shards from it, since the thing was barely as big as his head. Instead, Sunny opened the safe door and shook it down. What followed was a flood of shards that had, by the end of it, left a mountainous pile. She would like to say that she was exaggerating, but no, it was even taller than Effie. It was still there by the time they had left.
Aiko had fallen in love at first sight.
"They also asked me for an autograph, for some reason."
Rain was brought out of the memory by her brother's voice. He scratched the back of his head, still confused.
She chuckled. "Well, you are quite famous, after all."
Sunny tilted his head, like he himself couldn't quite believe it.
"Guess that explains it. Hope they can use the credits to deal with whatever ailment the daughter had. Her face was all red while we negotiated."
Her eyes narrowed at that piece of information. If there was something she knew with certainty about her brother, it was that he was rather dense.
Rain would have to keep watch on the matter. Big sister had already clarified long ago that, despite what the movie said, they weren't in a relationship, but she wouldn't be dissuaded on the matter. Big happy family operation was a go, and she wouldn't allow some hussy to draw her cute but oblivious older brother astray.
She was the greatest sister ever, after all!
"Anyway, what do you think about our old home?"
Rain took in the room once more. The cracks on the walls, the worn-down furniture, the faint smell of leaky pipes, the peeling paint, and despite it all, she found herself feeling at home, too. There was an unexplainable warmth in this place, a sense of comfort she couldn't tell where it came from. She couldn't remember it, but her subconscious did, and it made her feel at ease.
"This mark was done by me." Her gaze followed to a faint chip on the wall that her brother had pointed to. "I stumbled and hit my head right here. I cried a lot."
Rain laughed, already imagining it.
"I had a bump for ages," Sunny continued speaking. "Mom would always smile at me and say I had a horn now. Then she would kiss it better when I complained and say that it made me look adorable."
He pointed next to a mostly erased, squiggly drawing. Rain couldn't tell what it was meant to represent, but she was sure that it wasn't doing a good job at it.
"This one is yours." Seeing her offended expression, he patted her head fondly. "You were quite the little artist back then."
"You are lying," she complained, embarrassed by the terrible drawing.
Sunny smiled confidently.
"Haven't I told you? I'm the most honest man in the world. Two worlds, even."
He walked next toward the single bed in the room.
"This is where we would spend most of our time together. We would all lie down and listen as Mom read one of her stories." His lips arched in a wistful smile. "Many of my best memories were made right here, in the rare afternoons when Mom had the time to spend it with us."
Rain looked at the worn-down bed and felt something in her chest tighten. She couldn't remember it, but she could recall a sense of warmth, of belonging.
"I met her and Dad inside my nightmare."
Her head snapped toward Sunny. The same wistful smile was still painted on his face, but his eyes had grown wet, too.
"How... how were they?" she asked, afraid despite herself of what she would hear.
Sunny grabbed her hand softly, and she noticed how much it was shaking.
"They were perfect, happy, living the kind of life they always wished for us." His smile trembled. "Mom was just as caring as I remember, and Dad was the supporting pillar I can vaguely recall."
In a shower of sparks, the same ugly safe box appeared, and from within, Sunny retrieved a folded piece of synth-paper.
Rain accepted it with her free hand and unfolded it. What met her eyes was a drawing. On it, she could recognize herself, around three years younger than she was now, and beside her, there was Sunny, looking just like he did before becoming a Saint. Standing behind them were two people who she assumed were her parents.
One was a woman, beautiful and youthful. She wore a bright smile while her arms enveloped both of them softly. Her face was so similar to her own that she almost believed she was looking at a future version of herself.
The man was big, the tallest among the family, quiet and strong. His arms enveloped them, too. While Sunny had inherited most of his looks from their mom, she could still spot the resemblance. They had the same mischievous glint in their eyes, the same reassuring smile that spoke of confidence.
Standing at the side, within arm's reach of Sunny, there also was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, though she did not recognize her.
"That's Saint," Sunny explained when he noticed her confused stare. "You will meet her soon enough."
Rain swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to look away from the drawing.
"I drew it myself, so I would never risk forgetting them," he confessed, looking at the drawing just as intensely as she did.
For a while, neither of them spoke, and then Sunny inhaled slowly.
"I know you already have a family," he said. "And… we haven't really been part of each other's lives for years." His hand tightened slightly around hers. "But I'd still like to be your brother." His voice grew softer. "To be there for you when you need me… and even when you don't. To laugh with you when things are good. To stand beside you when they're not. To have your back in this ugly, cruel world."
Rain looked up. Sunny was staring at her with an expression she had never seen before.
Hope and fear intermingled to form a fragile expression that made her chest ache.
"You don't have to accept," he added quickly. "Just say the word, and I'll leave you alone. I won't push."
His smile trembled.
"But… I'd like that. If you'd let me."
Rain didn't trust her voice.
So instead of answering, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
Sunny froze for half a second before hugging her back.
They stayed like that for a long time. Without noticing when, they sat together on the old bed, surrounded by peeling walls and worn furniture, while Sunny shared story after story about the past.
Rain asked endless questions, and he answered every single one with a smile.
-------------------------------------------
Jet stepped calmly into the park.
It was the same as the last time she had seen it, so many months ago, with the same shabby vegetation, old benches, and different but equally haggard-looking people.
A whim had led her to it the day before she was meant to challenge her third nightmare. And now, here she was once again.
Jet walked to the tree, the same one that had caught her attention the first time. She noticed the curious stares sent her way by the few others resting in the park, but she did not pay them any mind.
When she arrived, her fingers traced, for the thousandth time, the lines etched into its bark, wondering once more what their purpose was and who had carved them.
Her gaze drifted slowly across the bark, lingering on every detail. The tree was in bad shape. Its branches were thin and willowy, practically leafless, and the few it did have were small and fragile, fighting for their own existence. Its color was off -sickly- and the trunk was starting to bend, as if it couldn't stand straight under its own weight anymore.
It was a good representation of herself. She, too, was too stubborn to allow herself to die, after all.
"Of all the places I expected to meet you, this wasn't among them," a man said, his voice coming from her back.
Jet turned around slowly. She had felt him coming and did not perceive any threat in his presence or voice. She wasn't going to let her guard down anyway; that was how they got you.
She blinked upon noticing who it was that spoke to her. Long black hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and a presence that made the world around him seem dimmer.
"Well, well, well, look who went and became a flower boy." She joked, looking him up and down appreciatively.
Sunny smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"I didn't expect to meet you here either," she commented before proffering her hand.
He stared at the hand for a moment and then stepped forward with his arms open, slowly enough that she could refuse if she wanted to. Despite the slowness of it, the move was so unexpected that she couldn't even come up with a reaction before he enveloped her gently.
"Thank you," he mumbled, his voice so sincere it made a part of her cold heart feel warm. "I might not have followed your advice too well at times, but without it, I would be dead."
Jet awkwardly patted his back, trying and failing to come up with a response after such an honest display. She was almost relieved when he stepped back, a red hue lightly coloring his cheeks, the same that was probably coloring hers too.
"Thank you," he said again, smiling brightly. "Congratulations also seem to be in order, Saint Jet."
She snorted and gave him a flat stare. "Of course, because it's me who did the impossible."
Sunny chuckled, a bashful expression on his face. "Fair."
Jet shook her head, amused despite herself. "What are you doing here anyway? One would think that humanity's newest Saint has better things to do than spending time in some dreary park."
Sunny stared at her for a moment, probably wondering what to say in answer, and then shrugged faintly. "Visiting my parents."
Jet turned back to the tree and the lines carved in it. Everything clicked immediately.
The Outskirts wasn't a place that held much in the way of care for the deceased. Their remains must have been disposed of, and a young boy without any means had taken it upon himself to do something to commemorate them, even if that something was just carving some lines in a tree.
Jet nodded mournfully.
She did not have many memories of her own. Her mother had died shortly after giving birth, and her father had died when she was just eight years old. However, what little she remembered of him had been enough to keep her warm on many cold nights. Now that she was face-to-face with the tree, she regretted not having done something similar.
"What about the third line?"
Sunny exhaled slowly, and for a moment, the powerful Saint was replaced by a small, lost child. "It's for me. I carved it right before challenging my first nightmare."
Jet nodded silently. She understood. She had done something similar before challenging hers.
For those of the Outskirts, the first nightmare was the same as a death sentence. Of course, he would want to leave a mark of his passing through this ugly world before he went to what he believed would be his demise.
"How does it feel?" she asked gently. "To be a Saint? One of humanity's most exalted champions?"
Sunny chuckled without humor. "Honestly? I have no idea. I feel the same way I always did. Lost, confused, afraid. Like this is just a small respite before the next tragedy will come to rip it all away."
"Honestly? Same." She smiled sharply. "All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts, right?"
Sunny laughed, and suddenly it felt like the world was a little brighter. "Indeed."
They stood in silence for a long moment, two Outskirts rats enjoying the brief moment of respite the world afforded them before they would have to dive back into danger.
"Do you mind... if I do the same?" she asked after a moment, her gaze not leaving the bark.
Sunny stared at her for a long time before nodding, gesturing to the tree in invitation.
Jet called, and the mist answered, shaping itself into a khopesh with which she carved three lines into the tree, joining the ones already present.
Sunny tilted his head, looking at her askance. "What is the third one for?"
She smirked. "It's for me too."
He laughed and opened his arms flamboyantly. "Welcome to the dead men walking club, then."
Jet laughed too, wondering how he would react if he knew how true that statement was.
They kept talking after that, sharing stories of the past and the many perils they had faced.
She knew that there were more dangers in the future. More problems. The nightmare chain was coming. The Category Six Gate, too. She would have to speak to him about the Government's desire to recruit him. About whatever his relationship with Changing Star was. About a thousand things more.
But now? At this very moment? They weren't Saints, champions of humanity, but two Outskirts rats enjoying the presence of someone who could understand how they felt.
-------------------------------------------
"Are you crazy?!"
Kai could have died of second-hand embarrassment at that very moment.
"Probably," Sunny answered without missing a beat.
The group of children ran away, laughing and exchanging jokes with each other.
It was a fun sight, something that might have brought a smile to his face. It did the first time, and the second.
They were currently on the eighth, and he was starting to reconsider his stance on having children if there was even the faintest chance of them coming out like this.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled to his friend, deeply regretting bringing him to this mall.
Sunny shrugged. "I've had worse. Why do they keep asking that, though?"
Kai did not have the courage to answer that question, so he went for a tactical distraction instead. "Hey, that's the shop I was talking about."
Narrowing his eyes at the omission but acquiescing nonetheless, Sunny followed his finger to the boutique he was pointing at. It was an elegant place, deceptively big despite its apparent modest size. On the front, showcased proudly, one could find all kinds of clothes.
It belonged to an Awakened woman named Edna, famous among the Awakened for her quality, durable clothes that she wove herself. They were quite stylish too, in his opinion.
Kai had been surprised when Sunny asked to go to a concert, but he had accepted without hesitation, glad to do something together. Since there were still a few hours left before it would start, he had proposed going on a shopping trip.
The clothes Sunny could weave from his shadows were fashionable, but he couldn't in good conscience allow him to go around wearing nothing but shadows. It was a disaster waiting to happen. He already dreaded how he would react when he found out about the livestream.
"So how does this work?" Sunny asked, stepping inside calmly.
Kai followed him and offered a quiet nod to the small woman at the counter, who shot them a calculating glance before resuming her conversation with an Ascended man.
"Just like any other clothes shop," he answered absentmindedly, already looking for something that would go well with Sunny's pale complexion. "Have you never been to one?"
"Clothes are expensive. Not like I could afford them," Sunny answered calmly.
He was looking at a robe with golden stitching that, in Kai's opinion, would make him look like a dark lord in one of those fantasy movies. He suspected that Sunny would like it even more if he pointed that out, so he wisely kept silent.
"How did you acquire clothes, then?"
He shrugged, tracing with his fingers a pair of pants that seemed stitched out of nightmare creature scales. "Dumpsters, donations." He chuckled lowly. "Once, I stole a hoodie from an older kid who was still wearing it. I still laugh when I remember his dumbfounded face. He and his friends spent hours pursuing me before I ditched them."
Kai's smile froze. "That's... nice?"
Completely missing his tense tone, Sunny nodded proudly. "Absolutely. It was warm and very comfortable. Since it was bigger than me, it lasted a long time before I outgrew it."
Kai wasn't sure whether to give him a hug or ask if he was okay. He did neither.
There were already too many stares on them. If he did the first, he was sure that they would show up on the front page of the news along with some scandalous headline. It had happened countless times with Gale already. He would rather avoid Lady Nephis' blazing eyes, too.
As for the second, he was chillingly certain that his answer would be even worse.
"Did you participate in that show you talked about?" Sunny asked, still perusing the clothes. "The one in which no one sees your face until they already voted, I mean."
Kai smiled, touched that he would remember after such a long time. "I did."
He glanced at him, dark eyes meeting his green ones. "How did it go?"
"I lost," he admitted bashfully. Not by much -he had taken third place- but it still stung his pride a little.
"The judges must have terrible taste, then."
Kai laughed at his attempt at comfort and handed him some clothes to try. Sunny accepted them quietly and walked toward the fitting room, leaving him alone for a moment.
Despite himself, he could feel his skin prickling. Alongside Sunny, he felt completely safe, just like he did when he was with the cohort, but now that he was alone, the usual creeping dread came crashing down on him, despite how absurdly small the distance was.
It wasn't as bad as it once had been. His therapist was doing a great job and was cautiously hopeful that, soon enough, he would be free of the ever-present nerves that followed him.
Personally, he doubted it was that easy. All it took was closing his eyes to be reminded of a void-black sky, to faintly hear the sound of rushing water. On bad days, he could spot a cyclopean Crimson Spire from the corner of his eyes.
He inhaled deeply and then exhaled, repeating his relaxation exercises with practiced ease.
Sunny wasn't doing great either; in fact, despite acting strong, he suspected that he was in even worse shape, and he didn't want to saddle him with his own problems too.
"I like them, but the color is terrible." Sunny stepped out of the fitting room, wearing the clothes he had provided.
All in all, they fit him splendidly. The charcoal gray of the pants worked well with the white of the shirt and the dark leather of his shoes. If Kai were to change anything, it would be his hair length. It was simply too long, even when tied into a high ponytail.
"What do you mean? They fit you."
Sunny seemed disgusted by the mere notion. "They are not black."
He laughed, amused by the way he had said it, as if those four simple words were all the explanation he needed.
They spent a few more hours in the boutique, rifling through the clothes in search of something that Sunny would find acceptable. Edna seemed annoyed by their lingering, up until the point she realized who his friend was, at which point she was more than happy to help them -and take a few dozen photos she would surely use as publicity- while picking them out.
Sadly, despite his and Edna's efforts, by the time they were done, Sunny had only picked black clothes. They eventually left, with the promise of coming back again.
Hours later, they were in a VIP booth, one that allowed them a perfect view of the concert while avoiding the crowds. It had taken pulling some strings and a decent amount of money to arrange it on such short notice, but Kai couldn't care less.
"Are you enjoying it?"
Sunny stopped munching on the finger food provided by the catering and turned to him. "It's not bad, I guess."
"Not your style?"
He shrugged. "Not sure I have one to begin with."
"Is this your first time at a concert?"
"I attended one before. In the nightmare, I mean."
Kai tilted his head. "Was it between killing hordes of Nightmare Creatures and courting the Sacred Titan?"
Sunny laughed and took another bite. "During the courting, actually." His eyes drifted away for a moment, recalling some memory of the past. "It was nice, though the company was far better."
"Sorry for not being as pretty," he apologized dryly.
"Don't be. Actually, you can compare." He squinted at him. "It's kind of unfair, honestly."
Kai laughed. "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You cannot complain about anyone being pretty."
He shrugged, his face telling him that he did not believe his words for a moment. "I haven't."
"Why not?"
Sunny looked away. "Habit, mostly. I didn't like what stared back at me in the Dream World. I don't see any reason why that might have changed."
Kai leaned forward in his seat to take a better look at him. "Was it that bad?"
"Worse than you might think," he answered after a pause. "I was all covered in scars. Some of my fingers were missing, and there was so much blood covering me I can swear I still smell it from time to time." Sunny dragged a hand across his face. "Had you seen me, you would have confused me for a Nightmare Creature."
Kai stared at his friend, thinking of what he had just said. In his mind's eye, his features were replaced by what he had described.
He imagined a face covered in scars, marred with blood. Dark, sunken eyes stared at him sinisterly. A mangled hand clutching, with what few fingers remained, a tachi just as mangled as the hand holding it. He imagined that same ghastly apparition staring at him.
Despite the fear it would have evoked in him in any other situation, here it did nothing.
He was sure that if he had met him, he would smile just as confidently as he did now, banishing all of his fears. He was sure that his dark eyes would shine with that same mischievous glint that made him seem so mysterious. And he was sure that the hand would only strike to defend him from whatever creature of the dark dared oppose them.
"Never."
Sunny chuckled despite himself. "What makes you so sure?"
"Because I could recognize you anywhere," Kai said firmly. "You are the most honest man in the world, two worlds, even. Are you not?"
Sunny rolled his eyes. "Of course I am."
"Then yes, I could recognize you anywhere. You would have started telling one of those absurd stories of yours, and I would be able to tell immediately that it's you."
"They are all true," he murmured beneath his breath.
Kai nodded. "I know they are. How you are still alive is a mystery I will never be able to answer."
Sunny smirked, lifting his chin proudly. "Well, you see, I couldn't have done it without the blood I earned from killing a Great Devil as a Sleeper."
He stared and desperately wished that there was some alcohol in his hand. "I hate you."
"You don't."
"I don't."
For a long moment, they stared at each other. A soft breath escaped Sunny, and a snort left him. Before they knew it, they were both laughing.
They kept talking after that, the concert all but forgotten.
As he heard the outlandish tales that Sunny had to share -and despaired about the fact that somehow all of them were true- he found himself smiling brightly. The ever-present nerves were gone in his presence, and Kai felt more at ease than he had been in years.
-------------------------------------------
Effie could feel her mouth watering.
The sizzling meat, the way that it slowly turned golden, and its exquisite fragrance made for a deliciously torturous experience, as she was forced to wait until it was done.
When she reached forward to grab one of the almost done pieces, a shadow tendril batted her hand away. The same way it had done so dozens of times already.
"Are you a child or what?" Sunny chided her, not even turning to look at her from where he was chopping the vegetables.
"I'm a growing woman." She whined and, when he seemed distracted, tried again. Rebuked once more.
Damnation.
He snorted. "The only thing growing here is your belly."
Her voice lowered in a comically dangerous way. "Are you calling me fat?"
"Yes."
She stared at his back for a long moment and then erupted into laughter. She hadn't expected him to answer so fast, nor so honestly.
"What happened to the cute little Doofus who got all flustered when I teased him?" She lamented dramatically.
For the first time, he turned, long enough to roll his eyes at her and then resumed his chopping. "He matured. Though I'm sure that such a concept sounds foreign to you."
"I don't know, my body is quite mature." She said in a sultry voice that made him freeze, the knife stuck mid-air. "Your eyes sure seem to think so."
Sunny's back was still turned toward her, but she was sure that his face had grown all red. So cute!
"This is so unfair." He complained.
She stepped forward and rested right beside him, her back against the fridge. From the new position, she could easily see how flustered he was, but also the fond smile on his face.
"How was it?" She asked gently.
"How was what?" He retorted.
"Your time in the Dream World, I mean."
The chopping stopped for a moment, and she did not fail to notice the way his hands shook. It resumed right after, but the pause was telling.
Sunny kept his eyes on the cutting board. "I would rather not talk about it."
Effie nodded silently. She wanted to know, but she wouldn't push when he reacted like that.
"Well, how about that Sacred Titan you were inseparable with?"
Sunny did not answer for a moment, choosing instead to turn the meat over and add seasoning. He made some more tiny tasks before returning to the vegetables, with which he started preparing the salad.
"It's complicated." He said, voice so soft she almost missed it over the sizzling of the meat. "Very complicated."
Effie tilted her head, curiosity piqued. "Mind explaining?"
"I do." She snorted, and so did he. "But you will keep pestering me, so I will."
He finished the salad and moved on to retrieve a pan to start preparing the eggs.
"What would you do if you were offered to live in a perfect world? One in which you can have everything you want? Everything you ever desired?"
"I would accept." She answered without pause.
Sunny's eyes narrowed, studying her slowly. "It would be a lie. A world crafted by someone else's hand, one which they can control and you by extension at will."
"Would I be happy inside that world? Would that someone have my best interest in mind?"
Sunny added salt to the eggs and turned over the meat again. "Yes, you would be. And yes, as far as you can tell, that someone loves you and would never hurt you."
Effie shrugged. "Then I would still accept."
He froze, mid-motion, and the oil in the pan sizzled dangerously. He resumed soon after, but there was no missing the tension in his shoulders.
"If only it were so simple." He muttered.
Effie patted his back gently. "Then let's make it simple. I will ask you a question, and you only have to answer yes or no. Sounds good for you?"
Sunny plated the eggs and moved back to the meat, which he started taking off the pan. "Sure."
"Were you happy inside that perfect world?"
"Yes."
"Did you want to stay?"
"Yes."
"Would you go back if you could?"
"...No."
She did not comment on the pause he made before answering. "Are you happy here?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to stay? With us?"
"Yes, to both."
"Despite all of the problems we just dragged you into and whatever is going on between you and Princess?"
"...Yes."
Effie smiled and patted him on the back once more. "There you have it then. Also, I never thought you would choose us over some perfect world. I'm touched, truly."
Sunny started cutting the meat into pieces. "It's more complicated than that, but yes."
"We missed you."
He glanced at her, and she could tell by the way he had tensed that he did not believe it.
"I'm serious." She insisted. "Kai looked like a lost child without you. Cassie is all teared up whenever she leaves one of her watches. Rainy Girl was all tense about you not liking her. And Princess... well, Princess is the one who missed you the most."
He put too much strength into one of his cuts, and the knife bit deep into the marble of the kitchen counter.
"What about you?" He asked after a long moment, eyes not daring to lift to look at her.
"It felt like a part of my life had been ripped apart." She confessed. "You were a fixture in it, an angry little Doofus that would always have the best reactions. Then one day, I turned to tease you about something, and you were gone."
He laughed shakily. "Good to know that you missed teasing me."
She pulled him into a crushing hug without thinking twice. "Of course I did. Let me tell you a little secret."
Effie drew a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.
"I was born with a birth defect. One that made my body degenerate quickly. By the time I was ten, I couldn't even move around without a wheelchair."
"You? I find it hard to believe."
Effie chuckled, ruffling his hair in the way she knew would annoy him the most. "I wasn't born awesome, that's all me. All the way back to a few months ago, when I became a Master, I was chained to that damn chair, unable to do anything. Having to be cared for by everyone around me."
"You hated it." He stated calmly, voice muffled against her chest.
"I did." She agreed easily. "I spent years in the Dark City as the best huntress around, and suddenly, I was back to that broken body, unable to do almost anything."
"The powerlessness was the worst."
"Yes." She took a long breath. "And you know what hurt the most?"
"No."
"You. I owe you, Princess and Cassie, my life, and yet here you were. Trapped in the Dream Realm, having sacrificed yourself for us." He tensed for a moment. "I was unable to help. Unable to offer any assistance. Unable to do anything at all." She chuckled bitterly. "I have never felt as useless as I did at that moment."
"Nobody could have done anything." He said comfortingly, rubbing her back soothingly.
"I know. I know that so damn well. And it did nothing to make it better. I have spent most of my life being powerless, and even now, as a mighty Ascended, I was still unable to do anything to help you."
"I'm back, aren't I?" He joked.
She laughed, feeling tears prickling at her eyes. "We were planning a rescue operation." She confessed. "Repaired a flying ship of all things and drafted a plan to cross the Hollow Mountains to reach you. You should have seen Princess, all fiery determination, refusing to entertain even for a moment the idea that you might die while we prepared. And look at that, she was right. You are back with us, right in time to save our butts."
He laughed too. "Always."
"Good, because you are stuck with us now." She tightened the hug for a moment before letting go.
She noticed the sheen in his eyes, but for once did not comment.
When he turned around to tend to the food, she brought out her communicator and deleted the photos. She had intended to tease him about them a little and then delete them, but it didn't feel right anymore.
"All done." He called, already walking toward the table, dozens of plates held aloft by shadow hands.
Effie wiped at her eyes and grinned. "Awesome, all that sappy talk has given me an appetite."
Sunny smiled, and for the first time in the whole conversation, he seemed completely at ease.
-------------------------------------------
Nephis watched the scene with a warm smile on her face. One that even she couldn't believe she was wearing.
Seated beside her was Rain, her face completely red while Sunny tried to feed her. He had insisted that he did it all the time when they were little and wanted to give it a try. She did not fail to notice the mischievous glint in his eyes, aware of the embarrassment he was causing her.
Encouraging him was Effie, who wore the same mischievous air, though far more openly.
Acting as the beleaguered mediator was Kai, trying to make him stop embarrassing her. Although he wasn't trying too hard.
Finally, there was Cassie, watching it all with a pale smile on her face.
The Seer had returned recently, bringing with her the project she had been working on over the past days. It was a small, easily concealable wooden disk that could apparently scramble lie detectors, something Cassie insisted she would need soon.
Nephis had accepted it, slightly concerned about the foreboding way she had said it.
"Here comes the plane."
Sunny's voice brought her back to the scene. He was making exaggerated cooing noises to an increasingly embarrassed Rain.
"I will hurt you," said the girl, staring daggers at him.
He pouted, feigning to be hurt by her words. "You always liked it when I did this."
"I was also three, according to you," was her flat reply.
"Can you blame him, though?" Effie did not hesitate to intervene. "You are so small it's easy to be fooled."
"Not you too!"
"Sunny isn't much taller either."
"Et tu, Kai?"
The bickering continued after that, going seamlessly from one conversation to another, the smile never leaving their faces. Breakfast went fast amid the chatter, and before long, the group started separating.
Kai was the first to leave, glancing at the time and apologizing about an appointment he couldn't miss.
Then Rain, who animatedly spoke about her family, to Sunny's shadow that would accompany her.
Cassie was next, leaving to meet with Aiko to coordinate some event.
Last was Effie, who, after eating more than all of them combined, promptly decided that she was going to take a nap and disappeared upstairs.
The atmosphere was so happy and relaxed that it took her a whole minute to realize something she should have far sooner.
They were alone.
For the first time since his return, she and Sunny were completely alone.
Her eyes met his, and she found the same realization within them.
"It's time, isn't it?" she asked calmly.
He nodded just as calmly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It is."
Sunny extended his arm, and between his fingers appeared a beautiful silver bell. He rang it without any hurry, and a bubble of silence enveloped them right after.
Their long-awaited conversation was here.